Sunday, June 29, 2008

I have now seen a no-hitter...

Well, also, I didn't feel like the ORoyals lineup failed to get a hit. The game was 7 innings, like all minor league games that are part of twin bills. I don't want to take anything away from Dustin Nippert; obviously it's something significant to retire that many batters of any team, at any level. I'm just saying that I would have scored Ryan Shealy's ground ball through the left side in the 7th as a hit, that's all.

When that ball got through the infield to lead off the inning, I celebrated as if Shealy had broken up the no-no. Yes, finally! ...and then it was called an error on third baseman Travis Metcalf, and I had a really hard time repressing my vocal displeasure. In the linked story, Nippert says that Metcalf would have made that play "9 out of 10 times," but I thought it would have been an awfully tough play, and was a pretty rough error to have called.

I should clarify that I'm not bashing on the official scorers. I know that keeping score is a delicate job in a normal game, and in a situation like today's that delicacy is heightened and a lot of balls in play could be scored either way. Maybe I'd change my mind if I saw a video of the play; maybe it was an easier play than I thought. I suppose I should be glad I've seen a no-no in person, because it was on my List. And at least it was a likable team - I always enjoy the RedHawk visits to Omaha. (Bobby Jones, their manager, absolutely cracks me up. I spent a fair amount of time talking to him between games yesterday, and his biggest concerns had nothing to do with his team. He always has to make sure he can find a place to smoke discreetly, and he was also extremely bummed out that the storm-canceled fireworks from Friday night were not going to be made up on Saturday.)